The Siblings who Lived
by jchristina22
Summary: How will Harry Potter having a twin sister affect the wizarding world? The two face hardships and struggles together but in the end will she be helpful, or a hindrance? Cat and Harry's first year at Hogwarts in which they learn about friendship, magic, and love.
1. The Beginning

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Since my OC is related to Harry, the plot will closely follow that of J. K. Rowling, but with my own twist. This chapter might be a little slow since it's just setting up the story before going to Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy!**

Cat and Harry felt that they were extremely ordinary children. They lived in a house, went to school, and did chores. There were, however, some strange things about them as well: they didn't know anything about their parents, slept in a cupboard under the stairs with dreadful relatives, and unexplainable occurrences followed the pair wherever they went. Perhaps these mysterious qualities helped the two know they were different from everyone around them. Other than each other they didn't have friends, but they didn't mind. Each loved the other more than anything, appreciating the bond they shared and always protecting each other. Although they were twins no one could really tell by simply looking at them. They were both small and skinny with bright green eyes, but where Harry had black shaggy hair and glasses Cat had wavy auburn hair with nothing to impede her piercing gaze.

For Cat, this day was as ordinary as the rest. Her Aunt Petunia had started breakfast, Uncle Vernon was reading the morning paper, and Dudley was being a typical prat. Harry was fetching the post but something seemed a bit off; he'd been gone much longer than usual. When he came into the kitchen he placed some envelopes on the table, but held on to two of them, and handed one to his sister. She was shocked because they never received letters and now they each had a letter of their own. Studying the delicate green scrawl she read her name, Miss Catherine Potter, and noticed it was even addressed to her room under the stairs. She and Harry started opening their envelopes together, slowly breaking the red wax sealing the unknown contents within. Before they could open the envelopes, Uncle Vernon snatched them away. "What do the two of you think you're doing?" he asked the children mockingly. "They're addressed to us!" Cat and Harry shouted in unison. "Give them back!" They reached for their letters but they were ripped in half before their eyes. "Who could possibly want to write to _you_," their uncle sneered.

Cat had never felt such a strong mixture of defeat, rage, and hurt. Someone wanted to write to her, it was _her_ letter, and all of her joy had been ripped away by her own uncle. She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit her uncle, to do something! But she knew that would only get her and her brother into trouble, so instead she took a deep breath, turned away from her cruel uncle, and walked out of the room. She desperately wished to get away but there was nowhere to go; this was the only family she had. If it weren't for Harry she would be lost and she knew he felt the same way. "Cat, are you alright?" Harry was the only one to call Catherine by her nickname and it never failed to cheer her up. "I'm just sick of being here, living with family members who don't even like us, and…" she trailed off, slightly flustered and embarrassed. "And what?" her brother pressed. He was curious about what she seemed unwilling to say since Cat was always the more outspoken sibling. "And, I don't know, I really felt like something great was in those envelopes, something that would make our lives better. But now we'll never even know." Cat couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. Harry pulled his sister close, hugging her tightly. "Who knows," he whispered, "maybe we'll get another chance."

* * *

A few days later it seemed like the Potter twins were getting their second chance. Owls began showing up all over Privet Drive, all of them dropping off envelopes specifically for Cat and Harry. Uncle Vernon was going mad from the unusual situation, shoving handfuls of the envelopes into the fireplace, burning them unopened. But they continued to come. More owls and more envelopes every day until he finally snapped and told the family they were leaving to escape the incessant envelopes. Cat and Harry were amused by the whole thing; this was all happening on their behalf and they had never seen their uncle so hilariously angry.

The family relocated to a run-down shack built upon rocks and surrounded by water. They had to take a boat to reach the building which helped to convince Uncle Vernon they were in an obscure enough location to be left alone. It was a single-bedroom "cottage" with two tiny floors. When they arrived, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia took the bedroom upstairs and Dudley snatched the single couch downstairs, leaving Cat and Harry the floor but they were used to unpleasant living conditions. The Dursleys had never made the twins feel welcome—their aunt and uncle made them sleep in the cupboard under the stairs even though there were extra bedrooms, their cousin was a constant torment, and no matter what either of them did they couldn't get their relatives to like them even the slightest bit.

All of Cat's worries about trying to get along with her family were amplified around this time because it was her birthday. She had always been envious of other children who got presents, cakes, parties, friends, and people genuinely happy to see them through another year. She had never received so much as a card. She and her brother were the only ones to wish each other a happy birthday and, as much as she hoped for something more, she felt that this year would be just the same.

She and Harry were lying on the dirt floor, drawing a birthday cake just for them. They had never had a cake of their own but had seen plenty for their spoiled cousin, Dudley. They were determined to make this cake even more beautiful and delectable than any he'd had. "What kind of cake should it be?" Harry whispered. It was nearing midnight, nearly the beginning of their birthday. "Definitely chocolate," Cat whispered back, "with pink buttercream frosting." She had always dreamed of having a cake just like this, even if it was only dirt. In her mind it was just right and she dreamily doodled some frosting while Harry added the eleventh and final candle. "Perfect," they breathed in unison, admiring the work they created together. At that moment the clock in the room rang twelve times, signifying midnight had struck and it was time to celebrate. Cat and Harry looked up at each other, smiling. "Happy birthday, Cat." "Happy birthday, Harry." Cat grabbed her brother's hand, squeezing gently. "Let's make a wish," she whispered happily. Harry nodded, grateful to see his sister so excited. They closed their eyes, paused for a few moments to think of what they wanted more than anything, and then blew out their candles.


	2. A Visitor

**Again, this chapter might be a bit slow since it's setting things up. But Hagrid's here! Things will definitely start picking up after this one, promise.**

There was a brief moment of satisfaction before a sudden BANG at the door, mere feet from the Potters' faces. They jumped up, shocked at hearing someone knocking on the door of this secluded shack. Cat's impulse was to give in to her curiosity and open the door, but before she could take a step forward Harry pulled them both in a corner, putting himself between his sister and whatever wanted inside. They had just hidden themselves away when there was a final booming knock and the door fell off its hinges. Cat peeked around Harry to see a dark figure filling the doorframe, taking a step inside. At this point Dudley was awake from the crash and cringing under his blanket on the couch. The lights were flicked on by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, rushing in to see what had happened.

Cat watched as the towering man placed the door back where it should be. When he turned around she saw his face was covered by his dark, scraggly hair and beard with a slight sparkle in his dark eyes. "Who are you?" Uncle Vernon yelled at the intruder. The man ignored the question and walked over to Dudley on the couch. "Harry?" the man began, "you, er, look a bit diffren'." "I-I'm not Harry," Dudley squeaked before crawling off the couch and hiding behind his mother. "I'm here." Harry took a step out of the corner, still keeping Cat behind him. "So you are." The strange man broke into a grin. "The las' time I saw you an' yer sister, you was both little babies. Yeh looked jus' like yer dad and she like yer mum, and yeh both had her eyes." It looked like there was a tear in his eye. "You knew our parents?" Cat jumped out from behind Harry before he could pull her back. The giant laughed, "I sher did, an' I know today's a very special day fer the two a yeh!"

Cat's eyes widened as she saw the man pull a mildly crumpled box from his oversized pocket before sitting on the couch. "Happy birthday, Catherine! And happy birthday, Harry!" The twins took the parcel with slightly shaking hands. They opened it and Cat let out a loud laugh seeing a chocolate cake with pink buttercream frosting and "Happy Birthday" written in green icing. She could feel tears stinging her eyes at the generous gift and turned to face the giant. When Cat laughed, he had thought she didn't like the cake, but seeing the smile on her face let him know how much she enjoyed it. She threw her arms around the man's neck and told him, "It's brilliant, thank you so much." At first Harry was nervous by his sister's reaction but he could tell this man was a friend and, besides, she had gotten her dream cake. It was exactly what he had wished for.

"Who are you, exactly?" Cat asked, pulling back slightly to look the man in the eyes.

He chuckled. "S'pose it is time I introduced meself. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

Cat and Harry exchanged confused looks. Though they now knew the man's name, nothing else really made any sense to them.

"Call me Hagrid," he continued, "everyone does. An', like I told yeh, I'm the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts which yeh'll know all about."

"Er," Harry began.

"Well," Cat said.

"…Not really," they finished together.

"No? I thought yeh weren't getting' the letters but I thought sherly yeh would know about Hogwarts! Didn't yeh wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

Now the twins were really confused. "All what?" they asked, curious what this Hagrid was talking about.

"ALL WHAT?!" Hagrid bellowed. "Wait jus' one second!" He was on his feet now and in his anger appeared to fill the whole room, pressing the Dursleys to the far wall. "Are you tellin' me that these kids don't know nothin' abou'…abou' anything?!"

The Potters weren't sure whether to take this as an insult about their intelligence, or what. Cat was more interested about what any of this meant but Harry spoke up to try and defend himself. "We're not stupid or anything, we do know some things. Math and other such things…" he trailed off, realizing Hagrid wasn't listening.

"Not abou' those things. I mean our world. Yours, mine, your parents' world!"

Cat had finally had enough with feeling left out. "What world?! We don't know anything about our parents, or why our aunt and uncle despise us, or why we're different! They never told us anything and for once I would like my questions to be answered." There was a defiant glint to her green eyes, sparkling from fury and confusion. Harry was startled by his sister's outburst, but proud that one of them finally stood up for themselves.

Hagrid looked absolutely livid. "DURSLEY!" his booming voice shook the entire shack. Uncle Vernon started shaking and went pale. Hagrid turned to Cat and Harry, his demeanor shifting from angry to something similar to sadness. "But…yeh have to know about yer mum and dad. They're—you're _famous_," he finished incredulously.

"What?" Harry blurted. "That's-that's just not possible…"

"They don' know…they jus'…they don' even know. Yeh don' even know what the two a yeh are?" Hagrid simply couldn't understand any of this. They were supposed to know everything by now!

"NO!" Uncle Vernon suddenly screamed. "You can't, I won't let you tell them!"

The look Hagrid gave him was filled with rage. "You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter left fer them by Dumbledore? NEVER?"

Now Harry was fed up with what was happening. He hated being spoken about as if he and his sister weren't in the room and discussing all of this unknown information about _their_ lives was too much. "Never told us _what?_" he asked loudly.

Uncle Vernon screamed in protest and Aunt Petunia appeared as if she were about to cry, but Hagrid had had enough. He looked Harry right in the eye before announcing, "Yer a wizard, Harry." Of all the things Harry had expected to hear, that was definitely not one of them. He must have misunderstood what Hagrid said and believed this until Cat asked, "Does that make me a witch? With magic and everything?" While Harry was trying to convince himself he had misheard being declared a wizard, Cat was imagining all of the wonderful things that could happen to a witch. She was already thinking of all the marvelous spells to be learned, the sights, the people! She had a million questions and had to force herself not to blurt them all out at once. Before she could ask anything else, Hagrid handed them each their letter from Hogwarts. Harry still looked lost by the recent news, but Cat ripped into her envelope excitedly, drinking in all of the information.

When she finished reading everything, including the list of supplies, she looked up eagerly at Harry and Hagrid. "I can't wait! This will be absolutely brilliant! How do we send an owl?" Her excitement finally got the best of her and her thoughts came spilling out all at once. Hagrid chuckled lightly before pulling a live owl out of his pocket, much to everyone's surprise. He quickly scribbled a note on some parchment before tying it to the little bird's leg, and sending it on its way. "Well," Harry said, finally speaking, "that was simple."

Uncle Vernon made a sort of coughing sound from the corner. "They're not going." That made Hagrid laugh loudly. "What, is the great Muggle goin' ter stop them?" "Muggle?" the twins asked. "Non-magic folk," Hagrid replied and they nodded, taking in everything they were beginning to learn of this new world. "We vowed when we took them in that we'd put an end to all this. They're not going, and that's final."

Cat suddenly realized something, "You knew. You knew all along that we belonged to this magical world but you kept it from us!" Aunt Petunia, who had been silent through so much of this, began to laugh. "Of course we knew! Ever since my sister got her letter and went off to that-that school, and we found out what she was. We knew you two would be just as strange as she and that Potter were. Then they had the nerve to go and get themselves blown up so we would have to take care of their freak children!" Cat and Harry were horrified by the truth finally coming out about their parents. "Bu-but, you said…you told us they died in a car crash." Harry could hardly get the words out and Cat was so shook up that she had to sit down. There was simply too much to take in all at once. She could somewhat hear Hagrid yelling at the Dursleys, something about a car crash being ridiculous, that her parents would never die from a simple car crash, but she was lost in her thoughts. She felt like her entire life was a lie and now, seemingly out of the blue, everything was revealed. She was still focused in her mind when she felt someone sit next to her and gently pick up her hand. She looked up at Harry and squeezed his hand. "Let's go, Cat. There's nothing left for us here." She nodded and stood up, followed by Harry. They walked over to Hagrid standing by the door. "Shall we?" he asked softly, with a small smile. Cat turned to look at the Dursleys, huddled around Dudley, then to Harry, and finally to Hagrid. A grin slowly took over her face, "Definitely."


	3. Hogwarts Express

**Things are starting to get good: Cat and Harry finally meet Ron and Hermione! From here everything will only get more exciting and interesting. Enjoy!**

Cat and Harry learned a lot about the world of magic after leaving the Dursleys in that shack. They visited Diagon Alley, found out about their vault in Gringotts, and bought the necessary school supplies. One of the most impressive shops had been Ollivander's. Cat was enthralled with wands and how they have a mind of their own, finding the witch or wizard that will use them. She thought her wand was the most beautiful thing she had ever owned. It was ten and three quarter inches, hawthorn wood, and had the same inner core as her brother; a phoenix feather. The feather hadn't come from the same phoenix as Harry's, but she found the similarities amusing nonetheless.

As a birthday present, Hagrid got each of the siblings an animal of their choosing to take to school. Harry received a snowy owl he named Hedwig and Cat simply had to choose, well, a cat! The joke was too easy for her to pass up and, once she explained her nickname to Hagrid, he agreed it was the obvious thing to do. She chose a black kitten and named her Samantha, or Sam for short. Harry just rolled his eyes at his sister, but smiled despite himself. After purchasing all the required supplies, it was only a matter of time before the two were antsy with waiting for school to start, especially since they had to remain with the Dursleys.

Finally the day arrived for Hagrid to take them to King's Cross station and they were overwhelmed with excitement. Until Hagrid had to leave them and they were forced to find Platform nine and three quarters on their own. Suddenly they found themselves feeling nervous and unsure, worried the last few weeks had all been some kind of mistake. "Platform nine and three quarters? But, that doesn't make any sense," Harry said, staring at their tickets. "Harry, none of this makes any sense! That's the point of magic." Cat forced a smile, trying to convince her brother—and herself—that she wasn't worried about any of this. Harry wandered over to a guard to ask about the platform and Cat started looking around at the people passing. Suddenly she was struck by a family with striking red hair. All of the boys had trunks and she would swear she saw an owl. The mother was hustling them along when Cat heard her mention Hogwarts.

"Harry!" Cat ran over to her brother grinning and grabbed his sleeve. "I think I've found our train."

Cat found the family again, right between Platforms nine and ten. She and Harry slowly walked up behind them, gently pushing along their trolleys with all of their belongings. "Alright," they heard the mother saying, "do you have everything? Clothes, books, plenty of parchment?" All of the children packed up to go nodded in response. Sensing that they were about to go to the platform, Cat stepped forward, not wanting to miss the opportunity to make the train. "Excuse me," she said smiling, causing the entire family to turn and stare at her. The attention made her a bit nervous, but she continued, "Are you going to Platform nine and three quarters?" The mother smiled warmly at Cat and Harry. "Yes, dears! Is this your first year?" They both nodded shyly, happy to have found someone who could help them. "It's Ronald's first year as well," she continued. "All you have to do is run right between that wall!" She pointed directly in front of them towards what was definitely a wall.

Cat was dumbstruck, struggling to understand how this would work. The woman saw the looks on their faces and chuckled, realizing how it must sound to the children. "Why don't you watch Percy first? And, if you're feeling nervous, it's best to go at a run. Go on, Percy!" The oldest boy placed himself in line with the wall and began walking towards it until he simply disappeared. Cat could feel her mouth drop slightly and blinked a few times. "Fred, George, you two are next." Cat prepared herself this time, staring as the twin boys set themselves up in the same way as the first boy. They turned to her with huge grins, knowing she had been staring. Cat felt a slight flush rise to her cheeks for a moment before pushing her mild embarrassment aside. "Don't worry," one of them said. "It's easy!" the other finished. She smiled and nodded, appreciating the few comforting words. Before she knew it they had disappeared as well. The only ones remaining with her were Harry, the woman, her youngest son Ronald, and her daughter. Not wanting to be the last to go, Cat decided she might as well step up to the plate now. She walked in front of the wall, making sure she was lined up properly. Sam meowed softly from her cage and Cat stroked her small head lightly. "Let's go!" she said with a laugh. Wanting to prove how easy it would be to Harry, she walked calmly towards the wall and as soon as she saw where her trolley should hit, she briefly squeezed her eyes closed.

When she looked again, Cat was amidst several families and standing before a bright red train. Realizing Harry and the other boy would be walking through any moment, she moved out of the way and waited for her brother. Soon enough Harry was beside her and they were moving towards the train that would take them to their new home. They walked down the hall, looking to find an empty compartment when they saw the red-haired boy from earlier sitting alone. They knew this was his first year as well and decided to join him. "Hello," Harry opened the door to the compartment. "Mind if we sit with you?" Cat chimed in. "Not at all," The red-haired boy answered with a shy smile. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley. We sort of met earlier." "We remember. If it weren't for your mum we might not have made it! I'm Catherine but please, call me Cat." She was terribly excited; not only was she making what she hoped would be a great friend, but she would finally be able to have more than just Harry call her by her nickname. "Nice to meet you, Cat. And you are…?" Ron turned to Harry who looked a bit nervous. "I'm Harry…Harry Potter."

The compartment was silent for several moments with the twins looking at Ron, and he staring at Harry. "You're Harry _Potter_?" he asked incredulously. "So you must be his sister?" "Twin sister, no less," she replied, amused by his reaction. Hagrid had warned them that the Potters were famous in the wizarding world, but they hadn't known what to expect. Now, however, they finally had a taste of what the rest of their life would be like. "Bloody hell…" Ron was clearly shocked to find himself sitting with _the_ Potter children. "Well," Cat started, hating the awkward silence, "you must be excited to go to Hogwarts. Older brothers who are already there and all." "Yeah, I s'pose it'll be great. It's a bit much being the sixth son though. A lot to live up to and I don't really know that I'll be able to." "Oh, come on! You hardly even know what you're capable of yet! It'll be loads of fun, I'm sure," Cat gave Ron a playful nudge. She wouldn't allow someone to be a downer when there were infinite possibilities in front of them. "She's right," Harry said brightly, "you'll probably be just fine since you grew up with magic."

The three carried on cheerfully until the door was opened again by a girl with large, bushy brown hair. "Have any of you seen a toad?" she asked, slightly flustered. They all shook their heads no and the girl seemed to have suspected they would do as much. "I'm Hermione by the way. Hermione Granger. You might want to go ahead and change into your robes now since we should be arriving shortly." The trio took her advice and quickly changed, excited to see Hogwarts.

After what seemed like ages the train pulled to a stop and the first-years were all gathered together. Hagrid was calling them over by a large lake with lots of small boats. "Hello, Hagrid!" Cat and Harry eagerly said to the friendly giant. "'Ello, Harry! Cat! I see you found your way to the platform," there was a spark in his eye as he said that. They all laughed; glad they really had made it this far, and got into a boat with Ron and another boy. They floated on the lake towards the monstrous castle they suspected was Hogwarts. Cat was instantly struck by the beauty of it and was so glad she would be spending the next several years here. She reached for Harry's hand and squeezed, as she usually did when words couldn't explain what she felt. He understood what she wanted to say and squeezed her hand in response. There were always perks to having a twin.


	4. A Sorting Ceremony

**You'll start to get a better picture of who Cat really is in this chapter. After this, classes!**

Only now was Cat beginning to feel truly nervous about this whole thing. She had been herded with the rest of the first-years just outside two enormous wooden doors. They could hear loud laughter and voices from within and wanted desperately to be a part of the merriment. A rather severe looking woman—was her name Professor McGonagall?—had led them here and told them everything they would need to know about the sorting process. Cat, however, had not been listening and was unsure what to expect. When they all crowded into the small space, she was separated from Ron and Harry. She had never been without her brother before, but she wasn't about to start her years at Hogwarts by crying for Harry. Taking a deep breath she steadied her nerves and began chatting with those around her.

Cat was enjoying herself, laughing with some of the other first-years, when she got a peculiar feeling and noticed it was much quieter than it had been moments before. She turned, finally spotting Harry and Ron, as well as a boy she didn't know with white-blond hair. Making her way over to them she arrived in time to hear the blond boy say some rude things about Ron. Before she or Harry could say anything in Ron's defense, the boy had stuck out his hand, obviously in hopes of friendship. Cat almost laughed at the gesture; after all, he had just made fun of Ron who the Potters had both made fast friends with. Harry clearly felt the same way.

"No thanks, Malfoy. I think I can choose my friends for myself, actually." This Malfoy didn't seem pleased by his response and Cat could tell he was about to start with the rude comments again. Only this time they would be geared towards her brother, and she would never stand for that.

"Hello there! Is there a problem?" Cat asked brightly. The blond boy was taken aback by her sudden entrance. "No. Who are you to butt into our business anyway?" he sneered.

Cat's smile turned into a small smirk. This ought to be fun, she thought. "Me? Oh, I'm no one, really. But if you must know I'm Catherine. Catherine Potter. Cat, if you please. By the look on your face I can only assume you've realized that _the_ Harry Potter is my brother. We're twins, actually. I know! We look absolutely nothing alike, but there you have it. Also, Ron Weasley just happens to be a wonderful friend of mine so by insulting him, you're insulting me. And we just can't have that, can we?" She paused, taking in the priceless expression on Malfoy's face. "Brilliant, I'm glad we understand one another," she turned away from the boy, ending the conversation just as Professor McGonagall reappeared.

Harry leaned over to Cat and quickly whispered, "What the bloody hell came over you?" There was a tinge of anger in his voice and she knew he was just being overprotective. She merely smiled and shrugged, unsure what had come over her as well. Cat had always been known to handle confrontation head-on and was full of wit, but she had never been quite this bold. She enjoyed finally being able to speak her mind and the giggling students only encouraged her further. Ron snuck up behind her and whispered something as well, "Thanks for sticking up for me, Cat. You were brilliant and I-I just hope you meant it." "Meant what?" Cat wondered what he didn't believe. Ron's entire face turned red and he couldn't answer for a moment. "A-about us being friends." Cat had to stifle her giggle. "Don't be ridiculous!" she whispered, "Of course we're friends." Ron beamed at her in response.

"Students!" the professor was calling. "Form a line and you will follow me into the Great Hall."

Cat forced herself into the narrowing line right behind Harry. She wasn't going to be separated from him for this. She was excited and nervous and her hands started to shake. She reached for his hand just as he reached for hers. She smiled to herself and gave his hand a quick squeeze before the large doors opened and they began to enter.

The loud voices they heard before were now hushed. Every eye was on the first-years walking in, single file. Most of the first-years were avoiding eye contact with anyone, too nervous to want to look around. On the contrary, Cat's nerves had disappeared once the doors opened. She had immediately been drawn to the ceiling which was enchanted to mimic the night sky outside. She could hear the girl from the train, Hermione, explaining this fact to someone else. Cat was pleased that she had read about Hogwarts before arriving and at least knew some things about the school. After examining the ceiling, Cat looked around at the students and the banners decorating the hall. She could recall vague ideas about the different houses of Hogwarts but nothing was sticking out and they all sounded fine to her.

Next she began to examine the row of professors directly in front. She noticed Hagrid immediately and grinned, hoping he could see her but knowing he probably couldn't. Looking around she saw a man with long white hair and a matching beard with half-moon spectacles. She was thinking he looked quite nice and grandfatherly when he turned and looked right at her. Cat gasped softly and saw him chuckle. She smiled, amazed by this school, and the headmaster, already. Feeling another pair of eyes, she looked slightly to the left and examined a man with black, greasy hair and a hooked nose. Cat thought he had been staring at her but really he was staring holes into Harry and they had burned through to her. She looked at the man intently, wondering why he looked so angry, when he too turned his attention to Cat. This time she wasn't surprised and didn't break his gaze. She watched as his eyes softened and his expression changed from anger to something that looked more like sadness. Before she could give the man another thought, Professor McGonagall began to speak.

Cat looked to where the woman was and only then noticed a hat placed on a stool beside her. The professor briefly explained that this was the Sorting Hat before being cut off by the hat itself! Cat nearly guffawed at the sight, but caught herself when she noticed everyone else was still silent. The seams at the rim of the hat appeared to rip into a sort of mouth and then it started to sing. Cat was no longer worried about not having paid attention earlier since the hat was describing the different houses once again. Her thoughts didn't wander this time; the hat's song was really rather captivating. She learned all about Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. She still didn't feel any sort of inclination towards any of them but she figured that's what the Sorting Hat was for.

She watched patiently as the first several students were sorted. She made it all the way to Hermione being sorted into Gryffindor until she started feeling impatient. By Sally-Anne Perks she thought she would go insane. Luckily for her, she was next.

"Potter, Catherine!"

There were a few startled whispers when her name was called, wondering if she was related to _the_ Harry Potter. She hardly even noticed the whispers and stares and gratefully bounded onto the stool. The hat was placed on her head and a grin slowly stretched across her face, wondering how silly she must look. The grin was replaced by a giggle when the hat, apparently too large for her small head, dropped down and completely covered her face. She could hear the laughter break across the Great Hall and lifted the hat again to try to keep it from hiding her face. It was to no avail however and Cat simply left the hat where it was.

She found it very strange to have the hat surrounding her face and head. It was dark and she could hear the hat speaking, just to her, almost as if it were in her mind. "Interesting, very interesting," the hat began. "You seem to have the bravery for Gryffindor, the cleverness for Ravenclaw, loyalty of Hufflepuff, and definitely the ambitiousness for Slytherin. This will be difficult." The Sorting Hat sounded amused that he didn't immediately know where to place her. "You also have impatience, oh yes, very impatient. A daydreamer, wonderful imagination. Sense of humor, that's quite important." The hat started to chuckle, causing an eerie echo effect. "I see you also have a bit of cheek to you. Yes, you are a spunky little thing." That caused Cat to giggle again; thinking about her confrontation with Malfoy and now having a hat call her spunky. "Well, Mr. Hat, what does all of this mean?" "Dear me, I don't know that I've ever been called Mr. Hat before," he laughed loudly at that. "It means, Miss Cat, that you will be in GRYFFINDOR!"

Cat blinked as the hat was removed from her face and she was back in a bright room, surrounded by cheers and excited faces. She smiled brightly and walked to the Gryffindor table, sitting across from the twins from the train station. She could tell they wanted to ask her half a dozen questions right off the bat, but were interrupted by Harry being called to be sorted. The few whispers Cat had heard when her name had been called was nothing compared to what happened now. The entire hall was a hushed silence, very briefly, before seemingly everyone wondered aloud if this was "the boy who lived." Harry looked horrified at the reaction he received, walking slowly and shakily towards the Sorting Hat. Cat was rather amused, seeing her quiet brother suddenly the talk of literally the entire school. But she knew how much this would bother him so she asked her fellow Gryffindors to be respectful and stop staring.

"So, is it really him? The actual Harry Potter?" one of the twins asked her.

"Of course it is. How many Harry Potters do you think are running around, exactly?" She hadn't meant it to come out quite so snarky, but the boys seemed to enjoy the slight attitude.

"Well, well," started the other twin, "and does that make you his cheeky little sister?" Cat wanted to laugh; he obviously didn't know that she actually was related to Harry.

"As a matter of fact, it does." She smiled at the twins, wanting them to question her further. They looked at each other, one eyebrow raised. They did not disappoint her.

"Alright," the first twin said. "Let me guess. You're not just his little sister but his _twin_ and the two of you are absolutely inseparable."

Cat really did laugh this time. She laughed so hard tears started to stream down her cheeks and the boys stared at her, completely shocked by her reaction. "I know you were really trying to prove a point and make me look foolish, but everything you said was true." Cat wiped the tears from her cheeks, still giggling slightly. "I _am_ his twin sister and we are pretty inseparable. I'm sorry to give you a hard time but it was simply too easy to pass up." The twins looked abashed. They weren't usually ones to fall for someone else's trick and they admired the skill of this young girl. "No hard feelings," the second boy said with a grin. "I'm Fred, and this here's George." "You got us pretty good and, uh, made us feel just a bit foolish." George laughed, causing Cat to laugh again. "Glad you forgive me."

Just then the Sorting Hat yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" and Cat was snapped back to what was happening around her. She had forgotten about Harry being sorted during her exchange with Fred and George but was ecstatic to be housed with her brother. She jumped up to hug him and sat him down next to her.

"Harry, I would like you to properly meet Fred and George," she introduced them all, gesturing to the correct twin. "Fred and George, meet my brother, Harry."

"Well met, Harry."

"Good to have you!"

"Nice to meet you both as well," Harry smiled shakily; clearly still a bit nervous after the sorting.

"Sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name," Fred says to Cat. She shakes her head, feigning disappointment. "I see, all wrapped up in Harry Potter and no time for his baby sister…" She paused for effect, seeing the twins roll their eyes at her and waiting for her to continue. "I'm Catherine," and they nod vigorously, as if they had remembered her name the whole time. "But I would prefer if you called me Cat." She immediately regretted mentioning the idea of a nickname to the boys. They gave each other a significant look and an evil grin spread across their faces in unison.

"Of course…"

"Whatever you say…" They had trailed off together before finishing their thoughts aloud, "Kitten."

Cat smirked at the twins' take on her nickname, despite herself. She wanted to frown and tell them it was ridiculous but she kind of liked it. She looked over at Harry and her smirk was replaced with a bright red blush. She could tell Harry was less than amused by these two boys calling her Kitten. Fred and George noticed as well but didn't seem fazed by his annoyance.

"Don't worry, Harry, we don't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, we just like to have a bit of fun," George winked. Harry was still somewhat skeptical. "And we know you aren't just her big brother, but her twin, and we understand the twin connection."

Once again they noticed the Sorting Hat yell out "GRYFFINDOR!" and found Ron joining them at the table. Everything, in Cat's opinion, was working out perfectly. Before she knew it everyone had been sorted and the Headmaster was standing to say a few words. He welcomed the students, new and old, and suddenly there was a huge feast before them!

"Speaking of the twin connection," Fred began with one corner of his mouth twitched up in the beginnings of a smile, "you two _do_ have the mental twin connection…don't you?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "Of course," she answered just as Harry was saying, "I dunno." They looked at each other quickly, slightly frowning with furrowed brows, before looking back to Fred and George. "Nearly," they both said. Ron chuckled softly at his new friends, wondering aloud how Fred and George could be identical in nearly every way while the Potter twins worked in completely different ways.

George gave them a doubtful look before asking "Are you sure you're really twins?"

Harry merely shook his head lightly in amusement, but Cat was willing to play George's game. Her mouth dropped open in exaggerated despair: "Are you honestly asking us that question? I mean, sure, we don't exactly look alike with the black and auburn hair, but not all twins are identical! And there is the glaring difference between us." Cat pushed her hair behind her ears, completely exposing her forehead, and causing everyone listening to stare at Harry's. He squirmed in his seat a bit before turning to Cat, urging her to get on with it. "Yes, there's just one major difference between Harry and I that everyone seems to notice. It's kind of the first thing you see, I suppose…" Everyone around Cat and Harry had grown silent and couldn't help but look at the two. Cat smiled lightly before continuing, "I obviously don't wear glasses." Everyone immediately looked away from Harry's forehead and stared at Cat, bewildered. They all broke out into laughter at her silliness, which she had been hoping for. Harry elbowed her gently in the ribs, mildly put out that she used him as bait for a joke.

"That was absolutely brilliant!"

"I'm incredibly impressed, Kitten!" Fred chuckled.

"Kitten?" Ron suddenly asked, "Why do they call you that, Cat?" Fred and George were staring at Ron, trying not to laugh, wanting him to figure out their joke.

"They're just trying to prove how clever they are," Cat answered.

"Trying-"

"And succeeding!"

Cat, Harry, and Ron all rolled their eyes at the twin boys. By then mostly everyone had stopped eating and were ready to retire to their dormitories. Professor Dumbledore stood and announced that prefects were to escort first-years to the respective dormitories and that class would begin in the morning. Ron had pointed out the Gryffindor prefect earlier, his brother Percy, and they all made their way over to him. Once all Gryffindor first-years were together they walked up several flights of moving stairs and only got separated a few times. When they came to a halt at the end of a corridor, Cat turned to Harry. "Where's the dormitory?" she whispered. Before he could answer they both heard a woman's voice ask for a password and looked up to see a painting of a fat woman speaking. "Alright, listen everyone! You need to know the password to get into the dormitory. This year's password is Caput Draconis." Cat made a mental note to write that down before she forgot the phrase.

They stepped inside one at a time and when Cat walked in her eyes widened slightly, taking the Gryffindor common room in completely. It felt so warm and cozy with soft armchairs, comfy couches, and a large fireplace. If Percy hadn't pushed the girls towards their dormitories Cat might have curled up in an armchair and went to sleep right there. Instead she turned to Harry and Ron who were looking up the stairs to where their dormitories would be. Cat walked over to her brother, tugged on his sleeve, and hugged him tightly when he turned to her.

"Goodnight, Harry," she said softly, knowing how happy they both were to finally have real rooms and beds.

"G'night, Cat." She looked up to see Ron standing off by himself. "Oh, come here," she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug as well. "Goodnight, Ron." Ron's face flushed with surprise. "Night," he said quickly before leading him and Harry up to their room. She smirked and shook her head before letting out a quiet yawn. Cat walked up the stairs to her room and found her trunks already there with Sam curled up on her bed. She hastily brushed her teeth, changed into her pajamas, and scooped Sam up before collapsing into her soft feather-bed. Sam mewed in protest and Cat laid her down upon her chest. The kitten and Cat each yawned before closing their eyes, sleeping peacefully the whole night through.


	5. Classes Begin

**I know the story's kind of just getting started, but please give me some feedback! As always, enjoy!**

The next morning Cat woke up to find herself in a strange bed surrounded by scarlet drapes. She turned her head slightly and found Sam curled up beside her neck, nestled amongst her warm auburn hair. Cat smiled down at the sleeping kitten and slowly nudged her over, freeing herself to get out of bed. It took seeing the other sleeping girls for Cat to realize she was in Hogwarts. Everything from the day before had seemed so surreal; she thought it had only been a dream. Resisting the urge to pinch herself she spun around in her nightgown, giddy about everything to come. That is, until she realized classes would be starting in a matter of hours. Cat took advantage of being the first girl up and hopped into the shower. When she came out the rest of the girls were beginning to wake up and it was only then that Cat recognized Hermione in the room. She'd been so tired after last night she hadn't noticed who else she would be staying with in the dormitory.

"Good morning, Hermione," Cat called to her cheerfully. "Excited about classes?"

"Oh, absolutely! I can't wait."

"Would you like to go down to breakfast together?"

Hermione seemed a bit shocked at the invitation. "Yes," she smiled hesitantly, "I'd like that."

Cat dressed in her uniform and made sure she had everything she would need before heading down to the common room. She wanted to make sure Harry and Ron didn't slip out before her. There was no trouble with that though since the boys probably hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. She was just about to give up on them when they came down the stairs.

"Good morning!" Harry and Ron said upon seeing her. "Morning. Are you ready for some magic?" Cat could hardly contain her excitement. Harry and Ron nodded eagerly, but she could tell they were slightly more excited about getting something to eat. They were heading towards the portrait hole when Cat stopped them. "We can't leave just yet, I invited Hermione to breakfast." "Who?" Ron blurted. Cat nudged him in the ribs just as Hermione appeared in the common room. She looked surprised to see all of them waiting for her. "Shall we?" Cat smiled and led the group out of the common room.

As soon as they left the dormitory whispers followed them, all talking about Harry. Cat told her brother to ignore them, that they were just curious and too rude to come up to him, but she could tell it still bothered him. They made their way to the Great Hall where Professor McGonagall handed them each their timetables and they were happy to see they all had pretty much the same schedule for classes. Their lessons went smoothly and Cat was pleased to see that she and Hermione had more in common than just sharing a room. They were both some of the brightest witches of their year, but Hermione was clearly more brilliant and dedicated to her grades. Cat didn't care about the grades she received so much as knowing the material. Either way it was apparent that Cat was growing closer to Hermione and Harry to Ron, but she liked to think they were still a group of friends, even though the boys tended to forget about Hermione from time to time.

* * *

Cat looked forward to every class since they each taught her something entirely different, but Potions threw her for a bit of a loop. She didn't have trouble with the material, but there was something about Professor Snape that was unsettling. She hated the way he constantly picked on Harry without reason and allowed the Slytherins to make rude comments as well. The strange thing, however, was how he treated Cat. She assumed he would hate her as well since she and Harry were twins, but he only treated her with kindness. He allowed her to stick up for Harry, kept Slytherins from saying anything to her, and praised her work. In fact, she was the only thing that could occasionally keep Snape from taking points from Gryffindor. She couldn't make any sense of it. Harry was convinced he was evil and full of malice, but Cat could sense there was something more to the angry professor.

She, Harry, and Ron went to Hagrid's hut regularly for tea and chats. He enjoyed hearing how classes were going and they liked spending time with Hagrid, as well as his dog Fang. On one such occasion Harry noticed a newspaper clipping talking about a break-in at Gringotts. He read it and asked Hagrid if he knew anything about it. "It says the robbery happened on our birthday, the same day we were there. It might have happened while we were in Diagon Alley!" Hagrid avoided Harry's gaze, mumbling something under his breath. Cat thought he was acting a bit strange but didn't push the subject. After all, it was probably nothing.

The next day they found a notice in the Gryffindor common room saying that Flying lessons would begin on Thursday with Gryffindor and Slytherin learning together. Just about all first-years groaned at this information, but Cat couldn't care less. For whatever reason, the Slytherins left her alone and the only problems she ever had were when they made snide remarks towards her brother. She assumed it was because she didn't back down to their pathetic insults but that still seemed unlikely. Either way she was excited for Flying lessons if for no other reason than to prove she would be better than the Slytherins. She was smiling at the idea when she heard Harry complaining. "Great, this is just what I need. To look like a fool on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." "Come off it, Harry. I don't see why you even worry about that git." Cat got so annoyed when Harry carried on about Draco Malfoy; she couldn't see why anyone would give him a second thought. "Everything will be great, you'll see."

Thursday morning before their first Flying lesson Hermione was going on about tips she read about in some book. Everyone but Neville was tuning her out, more interested in getting on with the lesson. During that breakfast Neville received a parcel from his grandmother, a Remembrall, meant to help you remember what you've forgotten. Cat told Neville she hoped it would be helpful, and secretly wondered if it would help him remember to keep himself out of accidents. She seriously doubted it, but remained hopeful nonetheless for his sake. When three-thirty came around, Cat and her friends made their way outside to where Madam Hooch and the Slytherins would be for the lesson.

"Everyone stand by a broomstick! Hurry up, hurry up." Madam Hooch was obviously the impatient type. When they were all beside a broom she told them what to do next. "Place your right hand over the broom and say 'Up!'" Seemed simple enough, yet everyone appeared to struggle. Cat glanced around at the other students with brooms that merely rolled about on the grass rather than fly up to their hands. She was wondering if getting the broom up by the first lesson was even possible. She turned to Harry to ask if he was having trouble as well, but saw his broom already in his hand. He smiled at her, pleased he was one of the few to be able to get his broom to respond. Cat was happy for her brother, of course, but also jealous. She wanted to prove she could do just as well as Harry. She placed her right hand over the broom, as instructed, stared at her broom, and commanded calmly "Up." The broom hesitated for half a second before jumping into her hand. "Yes!" she laughed, showing Harry that she too could control a broom well.

The next step was to mount the broom properly. "When I blow my whistle you will kick off from the ground, rise a few feet, hover briefly, and come right back down." Before Madam Hooch could blow her whistle, Neville was in the air. She called for him to come back down but he got scared and kept rising higher until he slipped off the broom and crashed to the ground. Madam Hooch and the Gryffindors hurried over to him to make sure he was alright. "Broken wrist. Come on, we'll get you fixed up," she said reassuringly, lifting poor Neville to his feet gently. She turned to the class, "As for the rest of you, you are all to stay put on the ground. If any of you are caught in the air on these brooms you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.'" With that she escorted Neville back into the castle to the Hospital Wing.

As soon as Madam Hooch was out of earshot Draco burst into laughter. Cat turned to see his smug face, disgusted. "What's the matter, Draco? Upset you aren't getting all the attention for once?" He scoffed in response. "Ah, what's this?" He walked over to where Neville had fallen, picking up his Remembrall. "Give it here, Malfoy," Harry said quietly. Draco chuckled and shook his head. "No, I don't think I will." He started walking over to the brooms. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for the oaf to find. How about…up a tree? On the roof, perhaps?" "Give it to me," Harry was losing his patience. Cat had already lost hers. "Cut it out, Draco, and hand it over. You're just making an arse of yourself." She was about to take it from him when he leaped onto a broom and flew out of her reach. "I have a better idea, why don't you come and get it?" Draco smirked.

Harry grabbed his broom instinctively, not willing to let Draco get the better of him. "No!" Hermione shouted. "Madam Hooch said to stay on the ground, you could be expelled!" Harry didn't care; he mounted his broom and took off. Cat was grabbing her broom as well when Hermione held her arm. "Please, Cat. I know you have better sense. You could get expelled." She sounded sad at the thought of her close friend being sent away. "Sorry, Mione, I can't let Harry have all the fun." With that Cat pushed herself off the ground with a grin, racing to Harry and Draco. With the twins facing him, Draco looked stunned. He clearly didn't think they would call him on his bluff. Cat and Harry both rushed him, trying to get the Remembrall. Flustered, Draco glared at the Potters before getting an idea. "Alright then, try and catch it!" he yelled before throwing the glass ball as hard as he could. Cat didn't hesitate for even a moment before leaning forward and pushing her broom as fast as she could go. A glance to her right told her Harry had done the same. They were both racing to save the gift, not caring who caught it as long as someone did. Cat realized that if they both continued they were likely to crash into each other and fall, so she let up just as the ball was within Harry's grasp. In a split second the Remembrall was saved and the Potter twins had proven they could truly fly.

"We'd better get back before Madam Hooch catches us and we end up back with the Dursleys." Harry nodded and they quickly flew back to where the other students were, clapping and cheering.

"HARRY AND CATHERINE POTTER!" Professor McGonagall stormed over to the Flying class. Cat flinched, not too happy that her head-of-house was screaming at her and Harry. They were clearly caught. "Oops…" she muttered quietly.

"Never in all my years—flying!—could have been killed—" Professor McGonagall was nearly speechless with shock. She composed herself hastily, "You two. Follow me. _Now_." Cat glanced to Hermione to shoot her an apologetic look. Then she noticed Draco and his goons. The satisfied look on his face made her scowl and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Cat and Harry were both thinking how things would be with the Dursleys now and it was enough to make them feel ill. They thought of how miserable life would be and of all the horrible things their family would do when they realized Professor McGonagall had brought them to a classroom. They had assumed they would be taken to her office, or Dumbledore's office. They couldn't understand what would be awaiting them here. Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and brought out a student.

"Harry, Catherine, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker!" The three students blinked at each other in confusion.

"Do you mean it, Professor?" Wood sounded hopeful.

"Absolutely, they're natural flyers. That was your first time flying, wasn't it?" Cat and Harry nodded, still confused at what was happening.

"Professor," Cat began hesitantly, "you said you found _a_ Seeker, so why are Harry and I both here?" She was beginning to worry that one of them would be chosen as this Seeker and the other expelled.

"Well, you were both flying weren't you?" Professor McGonagall smiled, one of the first times Cat had seen her appear happy.

"So which Potter will it be?" Wood laughed. He and Professor McGonagall both seemed amused by the situation but Cat and Harry were barely following what was going on.

"Harry actually caught this Remembrall, but they were flying neck and neck with each other until Catherine let up."

"I didn't want to knock into Harry and he was probably flying better than I was anyway." Cat could tell Harry was interested in all this talk of flying, and even though she was too she was willing to step aside for her brother.

"Are you sure? A good Seeker can be hard to come by and having two right at our disposal will be really handy. If you're interested, I would love to have you both practice with the team." Wood's plan was convincing and Cat was pleased to have the chance to fly along with Harry.

"Well…if you insist," she grinned.

"I will speak with Professor Dumbledore about bending the rule about first-years. I want to hear that you are both training very hard. Don't make me change my mind about punishing you." Professor McGonagall was back to her stern self. But then a soft smile broke her serious expression once more. "Your father would have been very proud of both of you. He was an excellent Quidditch player."

* * *

Later that evening Cat and Harry told Ron what happened with Professor Mcgonagall and Oliver Wood. While they were talking about how incredible a chance this was, Draco sauntered over to them. He and Harry exchanged snide remarks until Cat was fed up. "Do you mind?" she snapped. Whereas Harry couldn't stand Draco's existence, she thought of him as a pesky nuisance. And right now she'd had quite enough of this nuisance. "I was right in the middle of enjoying my dinner and your intrusion is bothersome. If you would be so kind, take your little friends, and go." She said with a sickly sweet smile. Draco merely smirked at her attempt to get him to leave. Cat's smile turned into a scowl and she glared at the Slytherin. Harry shot some snide remark at Draco, but Cat tuned them all out. Soon enough Draco and his goons stalked off and Hermione was leaning over to Harry and Ron, asking them something about a wizarding duel. Cat didn't care until they each snapped at Hermione with rude responses. Cat shook herself out of her daydream to see them leave. She shot Hermione an apologetic look, said she would catch up with her later, and ran to catch up with the boys.

She found out Draco had challenged Harry to a Wizard's Duel at midnight and Hermione had been trying to tell him it would get him into trouble. Of course Harry and Ron thought she was sticking her nose in others' business, but Cat could tell she was just trying to help. She said as much but the boys weren't listening. As stupid as Cat thought it was, she agreed to go with them to act as lookout and make sure nothing went wrong. Before they left the common room that night, Hermione popped out from an armchair to try one last time to stop them. She followed them out of the portrait hole and only realized once it was shut that the Fat Lady was gone and she had no way of getting back in. She went with the group to where the duel was to be held. They all froze when, instead of Draco's irritating voice, they heard Filch and Mrs. Norris. They ran as quietly and quickly as they could, not worried about where they were going as long as they got away. They wound up outside a locked door with Filch and Mrs. Norris on their way.

"We're trapped!" Ron yelled.

"Quiet!" Harry and Cat shushed him.

"Move!" Hermione shoved Ron out of the way. "Alohamora!" The door unlocked and the four tumbled inside, shutting the door behind them. They didn't dare breathe too loudly as they listened to Filch walk down the corridor and away from where they were hiding.

"Guys," Ron squeaked.

"That was close."

"Too close." Cat and Harry sighed in relief.

"Um, guys," Ron said a little louder.

"I warned you not to go! I bet Malfoy set you up."

"Guys!"

They all turned to face Ron and ended up staring a monster right in its three faces. It was a huge dog and each of the heads were drooling and snarling, waiting to attack. Before they even had time to scream Cat and Harry pulled their friends back out the door they came from. The twins dragged their friends all the way up the tower and into the common room, barely taking enough time to tell the Fat Lady the password. They didn't speak for what felt like ages until Hermione finally broke the silence.

"We were in the forbidden corridor."

"We were with a beast!" Ron was in shock.

"I suppose now we know why it's forbidden," Cat said.

"Yeah, Dumbledore doesn't want to explain students being used as chew toys!" Ron shrieked.

Cat shook her head, "No, Ron. Not just the dog. There was a trapdoor under its feet. It's guarding something."

"Well I hope you've all had enough fun for one night. We could have been killed, or, even worse, expelled!" Hermione stormed up the girls' dormitory in a huff.

The three sat stunned for a moment. "She needs to sort her priorities," Ron finally said. Cat and Harry looked at him and broke into laughter. After the day they had, it felt good to laugh.


	6. A Test of Friendship

**It took a little while to get this one out, but I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter**

Following the incident in the forbidden corridor, Harry and Ron ignored Hermione entirely. Cat tried to get them to break out of their immature tantrums but found it difficult to get through.

"Honestly, you're both acting like children!"

"In case you didn't notice, Cat, we are children," Harry grumbled.

Cat shot him a glare that told him to cut out the attitude, immediately. "That may be, but for whatever foolish reason I expected a bit more from you. _Both_ of you." She paused, staring at Ron until he stopped stuffing his face. "Hermione was just trying to keep us out of trouble. Was it any of her business? No, of course not, but she was right; we narrowly escaped getting caught by Filch and then eaten by a three-headed dog." Harry and Ron avoided her gaze and gave no response. After that she stopped trying to talk any sense into them.

Cat remained fast friends with her and allowed Hermione to drag her to the library a few times a week to do homework. Of course she enjoyed spending time with the awkward, bushy-haired girl, but there was more to it than that; Cat knew she was the only thing protecting Hermione from the constant torment of the Slytherins. Harry and Ron had each other's backs but Hermione was on her own. Cat didn't want Hermione to seem weak, so she only intervened when the teasing went too far. Cat could easily ignore snide remarks aimed at her, and give witty comebacks right away, but she couldn't allow anyone to mistreat people she cared for—not even her brother.

Halloween morning began with practicing the levitation charm with Professor Flitwick. Harry was partnered with Seamus Finnigan and Ron with Hermione. Cat could see that her friends were uncomfortable with the partnering, but she hoped it would help work things out between them. She glanced around to find someone to work with when she saw Neville shifting nervously in his seat.

"Neville?" he looked up, confused. "Would you like to work together?" Cat asked softly.

"M-me?" Cat nodded in response. "Yes! Yes, that would be nice."

Cat nearly perfected the spell several times, lifting her feather just off the table, but Neville repeatedly broke her concentration to ask her questions. Even though she grew more and more frustrated, she continued to help him. She was glad she helped Neville and kept him from causing an accident like Seamus bursting his feather into flames. Cat had finally taught Neville the proper wrist movement when she heard Professor Flitwick clapping.

"Well done, Miss Granger!"

Cat turned to look at Hermione and grinned at her friend's success. Hermione smiled before mouthing, "What happened with you," knowing Cat should have been able to accomplish the spell easily. Cat glanced over at Neville practicing flicking his wand before looking back to Hermione, "Guess." She watched Hermione stifle a laugh and shake her head in amusement. By the end of class Cat flew her feather around the room and helped Neville almost complete the charm.

"You nearly had it, Neville. I'm sure you'll get it soon," Cat reassured him.

"Thanks, Cat, I wouldn't have done so well without you!" he beamed, clearly grateful for the in-depth assistance.

"Anytime," she replied before thinking he might actually ask her for help anytime. She was about to correct herself but he had already ran off. Cat cursed under her breath when she heard Ron and Harry behind her. She began to ask how they managed with the new spell but stopped, hearing what they were discussing.

"No wonder she doesn't have any friends. I mean, honestly, she's a nightmare!" Ron obviously didn't care who heard him. Unfortunately Hermione, and everyone nearby, could hear the harsh words. She knocked into the two boys with tears streaming down her cheeks. Cat turned her green eyes on Harry and Ron, freezing them where they stood. They could feel the anger radiating from her.

"She does have a friend, but you definitely just lost one," Cat's words were like venom. She stared Ron down a moment longer, making him want to melt into the ground, shot Harry a disappointed look, and ran after Hermione.

"Hermione!" she called, trying to catch up. "Hermione stop, please!"

She finally slowed down, not turning around to face her friend. Cat walked up, holding the stitch in her side. "Hermione, don't listen to him. He was just angry that he needed your help and didn't want to ask. You know you have friends." Cat smiled despite trying to catch her breath. "Hermione, please look at me." She finally turned around to show her tear-stained cheeks.

"Ron was right," she sniffed. "I don't have any friends…"

"Oh, Mione!" Cat pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Don't you dare say that! You have me. You're my best friend and I can't stand to see you this way." Hermione tried to say something but was muffled by Cat's hug. She let go slightly and pulled back. "What was that?"

"I said am I really your best friend?"

Cat laughed. "Of course! Feel better?"

"Yes, but I don't think I'm ready to face them yet. Could we go somewhere other than class for a while?"

Hermione Granger skipping class?" Cat feigned a gasp of surprise. "I can hardly believe my ears!" Hermione shoved her, finally smiling. "Alright, alright, let's get out of here." The girls decided against the Gryffindor common room since Harry and Ron were sure to show up at some point. They ended up hiding in a girls' bathroom where they knew they could avoid the boys as well as professors searching the corridors.

The two girls stayed in there for hours with Cat cracking jokes to cheer up Hermione. She told stories about the Dursleys and Harry, about the thrill of flying and thinking she would be expelled, and whatever else came up. They talked and laughed until they started to feel hungry and wondered if they had missed dinner.

"Do you feel up for going to the Great Hall?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Cat, I needed this," Hermione squeezed her friend's hand. "I want to wash my face before we go though."

Hermione walked over to one of the sinks and turned on the faucet. At that moment Cat heard a low rumbling and felt the floor shake faintly. She turned to face the door to the bathroom and saw a monstrous creature staring back at her. Its immense body filled the doorway with its little head mere feet from the ceiling. It had ugly gray skin and a stupid face. Cat stood frozen with fear when she noticed a large club in its hand. The troll took a step forward, lifting the club, and Cat screamed.

"Hermione, RUN!" Cat spun around and ran for her. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the beast before Cat pushed her from the sink. "Go! You have to get out!"

The sink beside Cat was smashed by the troll's club and she was knocked aside from the force of the blow. She could hear Hermione scream from somewhere beside her and knew one of them was about to be in trouble. Cat struggled to her feet to see Hermione trapped in a stall, the troll about to swing its club again.

"NO!" Cat could feel tears stinging her eyes. She blinked them back and started pelting the troll with whatever she could get her hands on. Nothing seemed to deter it until she managed to throw a piece of the sink right in its eye. The troll roared in pain and stumbled around clutching its eye. Cat could see Hermione was still safe, but too shook up to run away. She took a breath to calm herself and push aside her fear.

"Hey! Come here you big, ugly thing!" She called out to the troll in an attempt to pull him further from Hermione. Her plan worked a little too well and the troll started charging at her, club held high. Cat gulped, feeling some of her fear creep back to the surface, when she saw a welcome sight in the doorway. "Harry?" Cat barely got his name out before a club came swinging hard and just missed her head. She shrank slightly at the troll and anticipating another swing she dove under the sinks. "Harry!" she screamed, finally allowing the fear to set in that she was in danger.

"Hang on, Cat!"

Harry and Ron began throwing rubble at the troll, yelling to get its attention. Cat was trapped under the sinks by the troll and Hermione was still paralyzed with fear. Seeing his sister stuck, Harry made a desperate attack on the troll. He leaped onto its back and caused it to rear back, away from Cat. She took advantage of the opening and leaped out from under the sink. She ran over to Hermione who had sunk to the floor. Cat tried to get her to her feet and pull her out of the room but it wasn't working. Cat changed her plan and instead focused on making sure Hermione was safe. She watched as Harry and Ron continued to distract the troll. Suddenly Ron pulled out his wand, not sure what to do when an idea came to mind: "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The club was out of the troll's hands and floating in the air. It lifted higher and higher until it dropped onto the creature's skull with a sickening thud. The troll collapsed to the floor and, aside from Hermione, they all slowly walked over to it. Almost immediately after the troll fell unconscious, they heard footsteps rushing to where they stood. They all turned to see Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell. Quirrell began to quiver when he saw the troll, Snape walked over to make sure it was out cold, and McGonagall stared at the children. Her focus was on Ron and Harry, probably since they clearly didn't have any reason to be in the girls' bathroom.

"What were you thinking?" Professor McGonagall's voice was shaking slightly with anger. "You all could have been killed. Why didn't you go to your dormitory?"

Snape was giving Harry a piercing stare that bothered Cat. Although it wasn't bothering Cat nearly as much as the pain she could now feel creeping up her leg. She started to feel lightheaded and was going to explain what happened when someone else spoke up.

"They were looking for me, Professor." Hermione pulled herself from the floor, breaking out of her paralyzed state. "I—I went looking for the troll. On my own. Cat found me and tried to get me to leave but the troll trapped us in. She protected me and if it weren't for her, Harry, and Ron, I'd probably be dead."

Cat, Harry, and Ron were each shocked by Hermione blatantly lying about what happened. Cat opened her mouth to set things straight but the only thing that came out was a cry of pain. Her legs shook and she fell to the ground. Not sure what was happening she suddenly found herself surrounded by faces asking if she was alright. She could see the worry in Harry's eyes, Hermione started to cry again, and even Snape looked a little fearful. She grabbed at the pain in her leg, hearing the voices swirl together in a muddled chaos, and everything went black.

**Side-note: I'm leaving for a weekend road trip tomorrow so I won't be able to update for a short time. Hope you don't mind!**


	7. Tough Skin

**Sorry it's been a while without an update. Vacation time turned into sick time but here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy (:**

Cat could hear people talking around her. She couldn't understand what they were saying or why they were in her room, but they sounded familiar. "Ge oudda hur," she mumbled sleepily. The voices stopped briefly and were replaced by chuckles. Cat groaned and shifted slightly in an attempt to roll away from the sound. The movement caused a sharp feeling to shoot up her right leg—she gasped in pain and her eyes opened wide. The sudden light blinded her for a moment and when her eyes adjusted she was shocked by more than just the pain. Rather than the crimson and gold she had expected to see from her bedroom, she was surrounded by white walls, white sheets, and—when she turned her head towards the voices—bright red hair.

"What are you two doing here?" Cat wracked her brain to think where she was or why Fred and George would be with her.

"Keeping you company," Fred grinned.

"Didn't mean to wake you."

Cat smiled at the twins but still felt perplexed. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You don't remember anything?" George asked. There was a hint of worry in the twins' usually cheerful faces. Cat leaned into her pillow and bit her lip, trying to concentrate on the last thing she could remember.

"I remember I was with Hermione in the girls' room. Ron said something stupid and upset her. We were going to leave for the Great Hall but—" Cat stopped and jumped upright, ignoring the pain; everything came back to her. "The troll! Is Hermione alright? What happened to it? Where's Harry?" She could hardly get out her questions fast enough; her mind was all over the place.

Fred and George laughed, realizing she was alright. "Everyone's fine," George assured her.

"Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all in here earlier. Madame Pomfrey told them they should get some sleep since you were being a terrible host. You've done nothing but sleep since you got here!" Fred nudged her gently.

Cat rolled her eyes and sighed in relief. She was glad everyone was fine, but she was left with another question. "If they left, why did you both stay?" Cat eyed the twins suspiciously.

"Forget already? We told you we were keeping you company." Fred forced a laugh. Cat turned her gaze to George and raised an eyebrow. He tried to avoid looking her in the eye but she didn't let up.

"Oh, alright!" George finally caved. "We saw Harry and the others come into the common room and when we asked where you were, they told us what happened."

"At first we wanted all the details about the troll and how you four could take it down. Then it hit us if you were still in the Hospital Wing, you must have been pretty banged up."

"So we snuck down here to make sure you get a speedy recovery. We also wanted you to have a nice sight when you woke up," George finished with a wink.

Cat giggled at the wink and grabbed each of their hands, giving a little squeeze. "I'm glad I was so rudely awakened by the both of you. If it had been anyone else, they may have gotten a pillow to the face." She smiled, dropping their hands.

"Good, I would really hate—" George was suddenly cut off by a swift smack from Cat's pillow. Fred burst into laughter until he too was stopped by the pillow.

"Oi! You just said anyone else would have gotten hit, not us!" Fred said as he rubbed his cheek in feigned pain.

"I said anyone else _may_ have gotten hit. The two of you _definitely_ deserved a good smacking!"

"Our dear little Kitten has turned against us," George pouted.

"It looks that way," Fred sighed. "Fortunately, you seem to be feeling better, which means this is fair." He grabbed the pillows from Cat's bed, tossed one to George and they proceeded to beat her with pillows. She squealed in surprise and tried to deflect the blows.

"I see you're feeling better," Madam Pomfrey called from her office. "And you have some new visitors." The twins flushed at being caught in a pillow fight while Cat grinned, enjoying their slight embarrassment. "You should be fine to leave anytime. There may still be some stiffness or pain in the leg, anything more and feel free to come see me."

Cat thanked Madam Pomfrey and struggled to her feet. Stiffness indeed, she thought. Fred and George offered to help but she pushed aside their outstretched hands. She was fine and would manage on her own. Feeling a little weak she decided she just needed some food—she had missed dinner after all. It was still early for breakfast so she made her way up to Gryffindor tower to clean up and change with the twins close behind her, steadying her when she stumbled. Eventually they made it inside the common room and Cat had to assure the twins repeatedly she could make it to her dormitory alone, slapping them both a few times for good measure. When she made it to her room she saw that the girls were still sleeping, including Hermione. Her dear friend was fine, just like George said. Cat smiled and was about to leap onto her bed but she thought better of it; Hermione needed her rest. So Cat crept quietly to the bathroom to clean up and change.

The girls were stirring when she returned. Hermione was stretching her arms, her eyes still closed from sleep. A wicked grin spread over Cat's face. The warm water from her shower had helped with the stiffness in her leg and she thought Hermione looked a bit too comfortable. She silently made her way near the girl's bed before pouncing upon her drowsy friend. Hermione screamed and began hitting her believed attacker. Cat fell to the floor clutching her sides, laughing so hard tears welled in her eyes.

Hermione sat up in her bed and stared at Cat with her mouth open in disbelief. "You scared me half to death!" Seeing Cat continue to laugh only angered Hermione. "It isn't funny! You should be in the hospital wing!" Hermione's face softened as it hit her that Cat wasn't lying unconscious in a bed. "You-you're alright… You're alright!" Hermione flew off her bed and tackled Cat. "Oh, I'm so glad you're awake and feeling better."

"Of course I'm fine," Cat said as she hugged Hermione tightly. "It'll take a lot more than a troll to take me down."

"It's all my fault, I was too scared to help or run away or do anything. I'm so sorry, Cat. If Harry and Ron hadn't come when they did…" Hermione broke off.

"Stop it. You can't think like that," Cat scolded. "You didn't do anything wrong. Honestly it was mad of me to try to take on a mountain troll myself! Please don't feel bad, Mione, I'm fine and everything worked out." Cat smiled brightly wanting to convince Hermione that she shouldn't blame herself. "Hurry up and get ready, I'm starving!" Cat got to her feet and pulled Hermione to hers. Hermione hastily brushed a tear off her cheek, nodded, and rushed to get changed.

Cat fell backwards onto Hermione's bed, already exhausted. Her eyes were closed and she was being tempted into sleep when a tiny meow caught her attention. Sam was on her hind legs trying to climb Hermione's bed. She was still too small to jump onto beds on her own. "I didn't forget you, Sammie. You missed me, huh?" Cat scooped up her kitten and placed her on the bed beside her. Sam immediately jumped around on the bed and meowed in excitement. The little kitten crawled over to Cat and licked her cheek, causing Cat to giggle. "I know, I know. I won't leave you trapped on the floor again! No more hospital visits for me." Sam meowed loudly, satisfied with the assurance.

By then Hermione was ready to go to breakfast so Cat placed Sam on her own bed before grabbing all of her things. They made their way down the stairs and to the Great Hall. Walking down so many stairs left Cat's leg feeling stiff again but she ignored it. The desire for food was more important right now than feeling a little uncomfortable. When they made it to the Great Hall the uncomfortable stiffness became mildly painful.

"Cat, are you sure you're alright? You're limping," guilt and worry had returned to Hermione's face.

"I just need something to eat," she replied through gritted teeth. "I can sit down then."

Walking through the entranceway Cat was hit full in the face by the wonderful smell of fresh food. She spotted Fred and George looking at her, about to stand up and help her to a seat. She raised an eyebrow and pushed forward to prove she could manage fine, despite the limp. They shook their heads and could see them laughing. Good, she thought, at least someone's half-convinced I'm okay. She looked up to find Harry and Ron, half-asleep in some porridge. Cat grinned and hobbled quickly to them.

"Harry!" Cat practically fell into the seat beside him. "I didn't get to thank you for last night so, thank you." She smiled and gave him a quick hug before punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" he whined. He wasn't fully awake yet and rubbed his arm absentmindedly.

"For getting us in that mess in the first place and for telling Fred and George! If you hadn't said anything no one else would know anything was wrong." Cat sniffed indignantly.

"Yeah, except for that nice limp you have," Ron mumbled into some toast. "Matches Snape's nicely."

Cat looked at him in confusion. "Snape? Was there another troll running around?"

"More like a certain three-headed dog we know. He was trying to get into that trapdoor, I'm sure." Harry narrowed his eyes at the professor in question. Cat rolled her eyes.

"Come off it, Harry! I've told you, he's not as bad as you think."

"Not as bad to you! He treats everyone but you and his precious Slytherins like rubbish. If it had been me hurt last night he probably would have cursed or poisoned me," Harry fumed. He looked at Cat and his eyes softened. "I don't know what it is about us that makes him hate me so much and not you. Don't get me wrong, the feeling's mutual and I wouldn't want Snape to be a pain to you as well. But you should have seen his face when you fainted, like someone had died. Before McGonagall could figure out what happened he was rushing you off to the Hospital Wing."

"It was really great," chimed Hermione. "We were all worried about you but Professor Snape knew just what to do. Even after Madam Pomfrey assured us all you were fine he was hesitant to go. Professor McGonagall told him you were safe with us though and there was nothing more to do but wait for you to rest. Still, I didn't think you would be up so soon."

"Don't underestimate me," Cat chuckled as she took a bite of eggs. "You don't have to worry about me, I promise." She looked across the table to see Hermione smiling back. She saw another face looking at her, from across the Great Hall. She could see a little blonde head with a furrowed brow staring at her through the crowd of students. She couldn't read the emotion on Draco's face or understand why he was looking at her. He didn't seem annoyed, his usual expression, and he almost appeared sad. This doesn't make any sense, Cat thought, shouldn't Draco be happy to see the poor Potter twin all banged up?

**Just as a head's up, I'll be back at school next weekend so updates will be irregular. Please let me know what you think of the story so far! I keep developing as a writer which means things can only get better and your help will help me**


	8. A Struggle

**Sorry again it's taken a while to post, I've had a crazy few first weeks back on campus. Hopefully I'll find more time to write but in the meantime enjoy this interesting little exchange.**

**(Oh and sorry it's so short but I wanted to get something out for you guys and it was just fun for me!)**

Since her first meeting with Oliver Wood, Cat had been waiting impatiently to learn about Quidditch. She wanted to get back on a broom to feel the wind whipping past her face, flying so fast it felt she was cutting through the air itself. Her desire was only intensified after the injury to her leg; having to hobble around the sprawling corridors and grounds of Hogwarts frustrated her to no end. It had only been a few days since the accident but she wasn't healing as fast as she would have liked and continuously pushed herself to the point of exhaustion.

"Cat, please, slow down!" Harry called, hurrying after his sister. "There's no need to rush, we won't be late." They were headed towards Herbology and, in truth, quite early.

"It's not about being late," she grumbled as she tripped over a large rock and stumbled. She instinctively put all of her weight on her right leg to regain her balance, causing her aching muscles to scream in protest. Cat inhaled sharply from the pain but refused to collapse. She shifted to her left leg, breathed in slowly, and continued on.

"Cat!" Harry was just behind her now, "Stop!" He took another few steps and caught her by the arm. "What are you trying to prove? Instead of constantly pushing yourself to the limit, you should be resting. There's nothing wrong with taking it easy." When Cat wouldn't respond Harry turned her around to face him. Behind her stony front he could see the pain in her eyes. Harry sighed and pulled her close. "Oh, Cat, I know you hate feeling weak but can't you see you're hurting yourself? You're trying to do too much too soon. Please, no more hurrying off to class or up the stairs or wherever. You can't do those things right now but if you take it easy you'll be running around in no time. Now, sit down, rest, and take your time to class. I mean it." Harry gave her a stern look before continuing to Herbology.

Cat scoffed. Rather than sitting down like Harry insisted, she paced a short distance, unable to be still. He was right, she thought, I do hate feeling weak. I don't want to wait or rest or take it easy—I want to fly, to run. And with that she paused, considering the outcome of her attempting to run, even a short distance. She had just decided it couldn't hurt too much to try and was about to race after Harry when a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Cat spun around to face the speaker and tripped in her haste. She slipped on the grass, unable to catch herself, but a pair of hands reached out to steady her. Her cheeks flushed hotly as she looked up at the surprise visitor. "What are you doing here, Draco?"

"Saving you a great deal of pain," he smirked. Cat narrowed her eyes slightly and raised an eyebrow, waiting for the real reason. It wasn't long before his smirk faltered into something resembling a cocky grin, and fell altogether. "Alright, if you must know I followed you and Potter out here."

Cat was amused that he only referred to Harry by their last name, but then the rest of what he said sank in. "What do you mean you followed us?"

"I thought it was obvious; I walked behind you until stopping at this point. Hence I was following you." Draco's smirk returned.

"I meant _why_."

Draco hesitated, but only for a moment. "What do you mean why? I can walk the grounds as freely as you can. Besides, we have class shortly and I didn't want to be late."

Cat walked slowly up to him until she was mere inches away. Her voice was barely over a whisper, "Don't lie to me. You're a dreadful liar and I find it insulting you honestly believe I would fall for that. I'll ask again: Why, Draco Malfoy, did you follow me?" She could tell he was uncomfortable being so close but she refused to back down until she had an answer.

He held her gaze a little while before sighing in exasperation. "I wanted to make sure you were alright." Of all the responses Cat had expected, this threw her completely off guard. Her mouth opened slightly in shock as he continued. "When I saw you leaving so early I knew you would try something stupid. So I followed you, just in case you needed help. And it's a good thing I was here or you would have gone down this hill head-first. What were you even thinking? You can hardly walk, let alone run!" Draco's lecturing tone snapped Cat out of her startled state.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" she yelled, unable to comprehend why Draco Malfoy was giving her a lecture about what she can or can't do. "You sound like my brother! But what I really can't understand is why you care. What does it matter to you if I go tumbling down a hill and break my leg? You don't even like me."

Draco looked taken aback by the bluntness of her words. "Of course it matters. Contrary to what you believe, just because I dislike your brother doesn't mean I dislike you as well. You may be siblings but you're nothing alike." Cat was once again shocked by Draco's response. Before she could say anything else he was off towards Herbology. He called out one last thing to her as he walked away, "You should hurry, we're late."


	9. A Game of Quidditch

**AN: Sorry it's been so long, everyone, but here's something a bit different and something I had a lot of fun with. So please, read, rate, review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

Cat was strolling by the lake, thinking back on her encounter with Draco. Her leg was completely healed and she physically felt better than ever having begun her Quidditch training. The fallen leaves coated in a light frost crunched delicately beneath her feet, slightly giving way under her light and methodic step. Cat was simply biding time before Quidditch practice that afternoon and, as it were, the last practice before the first match of the season. Even though Harry would be playing in the game since Cat had been injured, she still felt the anxious excitement from the first game of Quidditch she would ever see.

"Just because I dislike your brother doesn't mean I dislike you as well. You may be siblings but you're nothing alike…" Cat couldn't get the words out of her head; she couldn't make any sense of them. What does that even mean, she thought to herself, where did that even come from? Usually this pondering merely frustrated her when no solution appeared, but today the musing was enough to kill some time.

"What exactly is Draco Malfoy on about?" she muttered softly.

"Hullo, Kitten!" a duo of voices rang out. Cat jumped slightly, worried the twins had heard her. She relaxed upon turning and seeing their laughing faces, no hint of Draco Malfoy on their minds.

"Hello, you, what are you doing sneaking up on me?" Cat quickly pinched their cheeks.

"Saw you wandering about," George began, rubbing his cheek in feigned pain.

"And thought we'd give you a bit of a hard time before practice," Fred finished.

"Ah, I see, picking on the poor former cripple. That's very cruel of you, you know." Cat pouted, and received fistfuls of frosty leaves thrown in her face in return. "So cruel! The cruelty of it all! I can hardly believe my own eyes," she sank to the ground with her hands in her lap. She was secretly conjuring snowballs as little surprises for her favorite pranksters while they jeered in triumph, conquering the "Big, Bad, Kitten."

While they were distracted, she looked up with a sly gleam in her eye. Seizing the perfect opportunity she flung the snowballs into their faces and landed direct hits. A wide grin broke out on all three faces at the realization of what happened. Cat sprung up in a flash and started running towards the Quidditch pitch, knowing the twins would be right behind her. She was glad her leg had healed so she could race across the grounds and feel the cold air rush into her lungs. She could hear them crunching behind her, but she never looked back, and rushed onto the pitch until she fell into a heap and rolled on her back with a huge smile.

She was breathing heavily from the exertion and braced herself for what was to come. The twins collapsed beside her and, in retaliation, began an all-out tickle war. They knew it was the only way to defeat the All-Mighty Cat and took complete advantage of that fact. She didn't stand a chance against Fred and George on her own and in between uncontrollable bursts of laughter, she managed to find her wand, concentrate on the spell, and jinx their clothing to tickle them. She was immediately relieved from the torturous tickling, and sat up to relish in her victory. Fred and George were writhing on the ground, laughing with tears running down their cheeks, begging for mercy.

"On one condition."

"Anything!" the twins cried out in unison.

Cat smiled maliciously before replying, "Admit I am the Princess of Pranks, the Sovereign Head of Hoaxes, and Ruling Champion of Practical Jokes."

Despite their laughter, the faces of Fred and George fell at this request. Knowing they were too early to practice for anyone to stumble by and help them, they consented. "You, Cat-Kitten Potter, are the Princess of Pranks, the Sovereign Head of Hoaxes, and Ruling Champion of Practical Jokes." The pain was clear in their eyes at having to admit these truths, or perhaps it was only the pain of laughing for too long.

"Oh, don't worry boys. You can always try and prove yourselves again tomorrow," Cat stuck her tongue out playfully before removing the jinx and skipping away.

* * *

Before she knew it, Saturday had arrived and it was the day of the Quidditch match. Though she felt nervous, she could see that Harry was an absolute wreck. Ron and Hermione had been trying for a quarter of an hour to convince him to eat something—anything—but to no avail. Cat knew it would be useless to try to force food into him, so instead she grabbed her brother's hand under the table and squeezed it lightly in an attempt to squeeze out his nerves.

"You'll be great," she whispered.

"Thanks," Harry whispered back with an attempted smile.

"Besides, if something happens to you, I'll still be around to save the day!" Cat joked, earning a firm nudge and a chuckle from her brother.

It was nearing eleven when Cat and Harry rose to change before the game. "Good luck, Harry!" Ron called out as they were leaving.

Hermione elbowed him sharply saying, "Good luck to _both_ of you!"

"It's alright, Mione, Harry can have the first game and all its jitters, but the rest of the matches are mine," Cat called back with a wink.

As she turned around to continue out of the Great Hall her warm emerald eyes met with a distinct set of cool grey. She stared into them briefly, still baffled by what Draco had said, and now noticing they don't seem as icy as others made them out to be…

Her lips parted slightly in anticipated speech but before she could get anything out she was being ushered away by Fred, George, and the rest of the team.

"Come on now!" Fred said.

"No time to lose!" George pushed her along.

"Hope you're not too nervous, Potter," Wood clapped both Potter twins on the shoulder, "It'll be fine."

"Actually—," Harry's attempt to speak was cut off by the wave of Gryffindor Quidditch team members sweeping the group away.

The team was in the locker room, waiting to enter the field. Cat was bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation. She secretly despised not being able to play in the first game, but could never feel jealous of her brother. Besides, she knew Harry secretly despised playing the first game as well. While Wood was giving a pep talk to the team she snuck up behind Harry.

"Stop worrying, I already told you you'll be great."

Harry jumped, but relaxed when he recognized the familiar voice. "I know, I know. I'm just…" he trailed off, unsure of what exactly he was feeling.

Cat smiled reassuringly. "Nervous?" Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded. "It's alright, Harry, everyone is already so proud of you—of us! Youngest Seekers in over a century! And…and I know mum and dad would proud too. I just know they would be in the stands cheering for us and so excited to see us both on the team." Cat paused, feeling the tears struggling to break through. She fought them back and continued, "So get out there and prove that the Potter twins mean business!"

"YEAH!" Cat jumped as the entire team cheered with her, apparently drawn into her pep talk for Harry.

"Those bloody Slytherins won't know what to do with two sets of twins coming at them!" Fred exclaimed. George agreed excitedly. Cat and Harry chuckled quietly at the Weasley twins' enthusiasm. Within a few moments they were leaving the warm comfort of the locker rooms and entering the cool pitch.

Cat's mouth fell slightly open in awe upon seeing the stands filled with spectators. She knew Quidditch was a big deal, but she somehow hadn't expected absolutely everyone to be there. She could sense Harry's nerves becoming worse after seeing all the people, but she felt invigorated. Her adrenaline started pumping and she could feel any nervousness being overcome with sheer excitement. She wanted so badly to be able to jump right in and play with the team, but being a part of the experience was enough to satiate her for now. She walked over to the Gryffindor's bench where she would sit for the game. Giving a final nod of encouragement to Harry she glanced into the Gryffindor seating for the rest of the students and spotted Hagrid, quickly followed by Ron and Hermione. She wasn't sure if they would be able to see her, but she waved happily anyway, thrilled to find her friends amidst the crowd.

Once the game began Cat tuned out everything; Lee Jordan's commentary, the crowd's cheers or groans, Madam Hooch's whistle, everything disappeared. Everything, that is, except for the snitch. She'd had her eye fixed on the tiny golden ball since it was released and mentally attempted to will Harry to go fly after it. Eventually her mental pleas were heard and she saw Harry speeding after it. Suddenly she felt something was terribly wrong and watched in shock as Harry's broom started convulsing, out of his control. Cat gasped, understanding something must be affecting her brother's broom while he flies hundreds of feet in the air. She reached for her wand but found nothing at her side. Cursing, she remembered she had left it in the locker room, thinking she wouldn't need it. Not knowing what else to do she looked into the stands at Hermione and Ron. She caught Hermione pointing at the teachers' stands. Following the gaze led Cat to see Professor Snape who appeared to be muttering under his breath. Cat realized that he was probably muttering some sort of curse and, feeling her shock turn to anger, she stalked off towards his seat.

Cat ran into Hermione near the stands and didn't need words to explain how much she understood. The two girls crept behind Snape, Hermione leaned in close to his robes gathered on the ground, and whispered a spell that sparked a small fire. Hearing a quick yelp of fright the girls ran off, hoping enough had been done in time. Cat rushed towards the pitch to catch sight of her brother. Screaming in spite of herself she was just in time to see Harry overcome his broomstick and continue after the Snitch.

"That's my brother! That's right, Harry, you win this!"

Cat gripped her hands tightly together in anticipation, not noticing Hermione now beside her. The hands slowly went from gripped to being rung together to clasped in something akin to fright when Harry lost his balance in the attempt to catch the Snitch and fell head-first. Even though he had survived the more frightening of the potential falls, Cat didn't particularly enjoy seeing her brother eat dirt. She started to run towards him and didn't stop when he stood back up. She continued towards him while he clutched at his stomach. A little concerned, and disgusted, she slowed down while wondering what was wrong with him now.

A loud laugh escaped her lips as she watched the Snitch pop out of his mouth and finally heard Lee Jordan's booming voice as commentator, "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" She ran up to Harry and pulled him into a squeezing hug. She felt the hug grow larger as the rest of the team came up in celebration. Harry was pulled from her grasp and appeared on Fred's shoulders. Cat soon followed suit as she was pulled onto George's shoulders.

"Next game is all you, Kitten!" Fred called up to her.

"I don't know if I can give the same sort of dramatic performance," Cat laughed, "but I'll think of something."


End file.
